Yandex rumored to buy minority stake in BiTaksi of Turkey

BiTaksi, a fast-growing mobile cab-calling service in Istanbul, seems to be enjoying a very fruitful year already. According to recent rumours, the Istanbul-based startup is now very close to securing an investment from the Russian internet giant Yandex. We learned the pair have already agreed on terms for the funding and will finalize the deal soon.

Credible sources whispered to us that Yandex is set to buy a minority stake in BiTaksi. Considering Yandex.Navigasyon, an online navigation tool by Yandex, is becoming increasingly popular in the Turkish market, it is not hard to believe the Russian giant would want to integrate the services with to provide taxi-related information to users.

Founded in March 2013 by Nazim Salur, BiTaksi has quickly grown to be the market leader in Istanbul where 18,000 cabs are run by as many as 50,000 cab drivers in rotating shifts. Available on both the web and mobile (iOS and Android), the BiTaksi app is almost the only way in Istanbul to pay the drivers by credit card.

According to the figures that Salur shared with Webrazzi last month, the startup has signed up around 4,000 taxi drivers so far to serve more than 150,000 active users a month. It is almost certain that the startup will use the fresh funds in speeding up its previously announced plans to expand into other major cities in Turkey.

We will update you on developments as we get further details of any kind.